Railway-rail-jo i nt fastener



(No Model.)

" N. BOWEN.

' RAILWAY RAIL JOINT FASTENER.

No. 396,236. Patented Jan. 15, 1889.

7:? .z IX

WI TJV ESSE UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

NELSON ROlVEN, OF ROCKVALE, COLORADO.

RAI LWAY-RAI L-JOINT FASTEN ER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of 'Letters Patent No. 396,236, dated January 15, 1889.

Application filed June 1, 1888. Serial No. 275,708. (No model.)

I 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, NELSON ROWEN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Rockvale, in the county of Fremont and State of Colorado, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Railway-Rail-Joint Fasteners; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the inx'ention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters and figures of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to fastenings for rails, timber, and for general use where bolts are commonly employed.

The purpose of the invention is the produc tion of afastening that can be readily applied and tightened without the application of tools, and which, when arranged in a series, will mutually lock each other, the last fastening of the series being secured by any desired means, preferably by bending the end of the cam-lever over the fish-plate, if applied to a rail-joint, or over the corner of a timber.

The improvement consists of the peculiar construction and combination of the parts, which hereinafter will be more fully described and claimed, and shown in the annexed drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a side view of a rail-joint having my fastener applied thereto; Fig. 2, a cross section on the line X X of Fig. 1; Fig. 3, a horizontal section on the line Y Y of Fig. 2; Fig. 4, a perspective view of the bolt; Fig. 5, a perspective view of the cam-lever, and Fig. 6 a side view showing the application of a single fastening.

The fastening consists of the bolt A, having a head at one end and the hook a at the opposite end, and the cam-lever B. The bolt is provided with the usual square portion, I), to prevent it from turning when properly adjusted. The web of the rails O has a series of elongated openings, (1, and the fishplates E have corresponding openings, 6. The bolt is passed through an opening in the fishplates and rail, and the cam-lever is slipped on the hooked end of the bolt and turned down. The cam portion of the lever, wedgin its way between the hook at and the fish-plate, draws the parts together. The belt A is adj usted so that when the ends of the lever rests on the foot of the rail the bolt will be tightened. The next lever is applied in the same way as the first, and so on for aseries. The levers are long enough to permitthe bolts being spaced at a suitable distance apart, and have the end of one lever project beneath the head of the next lever, and so on, the last lever being fastened by bending over the fishplate. \Vhen a single fastening is used, the end of the lever is secured in any desired manner, as by bending it over the timber or rail. If the distance between the hook and the timber be greater than the greatest thickness of the cam-lever, one or more washers may be interposed to reduce the space, as will be readily understood.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent,

1. The herein-described fastening, consisting of the bolt having a hook at one end and the cam -lever journaled on the bolt and adapted to have its end bent to engage with the rail or timber, substantially as described, for the purpose specified.

2. The combination, with a series of bolts having hooked ends, of the cam-levers having the end of one lever extending beneath the head of the next lever, whereby the levers 11111- tually lock each other, substantially as described.

3. The combination, with the rail having elongated openings in its web and the fishplate having corresponding elongated openin gs, of the bolts passed through the openings and having hooked ends, and cam levers moun ted on the hooked ends of the bolts, the

said levers mutually locking each other, and the last lever of the series being bent over the fish-plate, substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

NELSON BOWEN. \Vit-n esses:

RALPH WooDIN, A. W. Score 

